Bad Bunny and Karol G Are Most Nominated Artists for Latin Grammys

When the first Latin Grammy Awards were held in 2000, they celebrated the diversity of sounds from throughout Latin America, and arrived with the hype — and hope — that a new generation of stars would cross over into the American pop mainstream. Among the big names that year were Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and a rising young singer-songwriter named Shakira.

Now, for the show’s 25th annual iteration, the indefinably broad category of Latin music represents a sprawling segment of the industry that, thanks largely to streaming, has become a truly global phenomenon. The latest nominations, announced on Tuesday by the Latin Recording Academy, are dominated by Bad Bunny and Karol G, who sell out arenas, draw clicks by the billions and have eight nods apiece.

Juan Luis Guerra, a veteran Dominican songwriter, has five nominations. Coming in with four each are Kany García, a Puerto Rican singer; Feid, from Colombia; Carin León, from Mexico; and Kali Uchis, a Colombian American singer-songwriter. For the second year in a row, however, the top nominee overall is a behind-the-scenes figure: Edgar Barrera, a Mexican American songwriter and producer, who has a total of nine nods.

Another songwriter, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz, known as Keityn, who often works with Barrera, has six nominations.

A mere list of the nominees gives a sense of the geographic diversity of the Latin field, and of the cross-pollination among genres and regions that has become increasingly common (and popular).

Barrera — also known as Edge — has worked closely with Karol G, the neon-maned Colombian singer who has quickly become an A-list pop star. (At the MTV Video Music Awards last week, she danced in the audience with Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello while performing a recent track, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.”) Among the nominations that Barrera and Karol G share are song and record of the year for her track “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” (“My Ex Was Right”).